The Ascent of Emrys
by EscapismReigns
Summary: "Wh—what are you, Merlin?" trembles the man. Courage has been broken. "Not Merlin anymore." And with that, Emrys locks his power around the man's throat, and tightens. Merlin deals with his growing power and the web of deception and betrayal in his life. When will it all stop? Set after season 4, canon, NO SLASH. Third chapter up.
1. Facade

Façade 

_The knights looked in horror at what they saw before them._

_The slight hunch of subservience had gone and he had drawn to his full impressive height. Obsidian hair slashed his face, deathly pale skin and elfin features accentuated; it gave him the look of one not human. The knights beheld in fear this tall, unearthly being before them._

_Suddenly they doubled over in pain; it was tearing through their heads, their bodies, and now their very beings. Tears streamed down their weathered faces, they screamed in agony. _

_Merlin remained a still, merciless island as a sea of foes writhed at his feet._

_Golden eyes gazed coldly. _

Merlin woke up screaming.

Taking deep breaths, he ran his fingers through his drenched hair and rose slowly into the pitch black night. Making his way blindly – but cautiously – down the stairs he checked the sounds of Gaius breathing. Deep, even. The old man was still asleep.

Exhaling a sigh of relief, Merlin made his way back to his bed, groping along the walls. Falling into his bed, exhaustion soon overtook him.

_The knights suddenly double over in pain; it was tearing through their heads, their bodies, and now their very beings. They scream in agony. _

_Emrys remains a still, merciless island as a sea of foes writhe at his feet._

_Golden eyes gaze coldly._

_Arthur turns ashen. He doesn't understand…_

_Desperation fills his face. He heaves his sword at the advancing figure; almost collapsing with the strain._

_The dark figure – Emrys – knocks the sword away with conjured lightning, the metal of Arthur's sword conducting the lightning, sending Arthur crashing into a tree three metres back. _

_The king cries in pain as his bones crunch and splinter. Emrys smiles, rivulets of electricity skipping across his skin. He examines the electricity as would a child an old toy, before absorbing the sparks. _

_Arthur crawls back on his hands, trying to get away from this unstoppable entity. _

"_Wh—what are you, Merlin?" trembles the man. Courage has been broken._

_The figure cocks his head to one side, emotionless examination in the golden eyes. Then he returns to his normal stance and smiles icily._

"_Not Merlin anymore." _

_And with that, Emrys locks his power around the man's throat, and tightens. _

Merlin jolted up. Eyes wide – he was absolutely silent. Bile quickly rose in Merlin's throat, but he couldn't make it out his bedroom door before he heaved. _What have I become?_

Taking a shaky breath, Merlin tried to stand up, but his wobbling legs gave way on him.

That's where Gaius found him, three hours later. Staring at the blank wall.

"Boy, where have you been all da – Goodness Merlin! What is wrong?" Worry creased his face, but Gaius might as well have been talking to the wall.

* * *

Arthur woke up to the clatter of a tray. _God damn you Merlin._

Groaning, he turned to the other side of the bed and mumbled to Gwen, "Breakfast."

"Yes, I know Arthur." Arthur's eyes snapped open. The voice came from the middle of the room. Arthur rose to see a smiling Gwen and a smirking Merlin, both eating breakfast at a table set for two.

Arthur frowned, "Merlin…is that _my_ breakfast you're eating?" There was warning in his tone.

Merlin put on a thoughtful expression, "Well, sire, I originally thought so too." Deliberately pausing to take a bite of a sausage, he continued, "But then, you see, I realised that it couldn't possibly be true, as we all know his Majesty his trying to watch his weight."

The sleepy Arthur frowned as he tried to process this. But by the time it had sunk in that Merlin was insulting him, the servant in question had already finished Arthur's breakfast, made his way whistling out the door and down the hall.

Arthur turned to Gwen, "Do you _see_ what I put up with? I should have him fired or – better yet – arrested!"

Gwen shook her head and laughed with amusement. After a while, Arthur laughed with her.

* * *

_Merlin stared at the scene in revulsion. The bodies lay where they had fallen, earth overturned and the sharp smell of ozone from the lightning. _

_At first, it looked like any regular border skirmish. But then one noticed the smell, the scorch marks from lightning, and the fact that there was no blood, swords clean. The villagers who had been caught up in the fighting – no – the _massacre_, lay discarded on the ground like broken dolls. _

_Merlin had done this._

What have I become?

_Turning around, he saw where the knights stood silent, eyes widened with revulsion._

_Leon hissed, "Traitor." The others held agreement in their eyes; even Gwaine held only sorrow filled disgust. _

_Merlin winced. The inevitable had come. Merlin slumped to the ground in defeat. But he was loyal only to Camelot, to Arthur. Could they not see that?_

_But the king himself stood, protected, behind the knights. Protected from what? From Merlin. _

_Arthur approached Merlin, hatred emanating from him. A scraping sound projected as Arthur withdrew his sword, Excalibur. _

_Merlin's last thought before Excalibur came whistling for his neck was:_

_How ironic. _

Merlin woke with tears in his eyes. Night after night, the dreams never ceased. The knights, Arthur, Uther, Gwen, Will, Balinor, Morgana, Morgase, Lancelot, _Freya_

People he had killed, people who tried to kill him, people who had died for him, people who he had deceived.

How many more would Merlin add to that list?

The shadows under his eyes grew with each passing day. The slump of his shoulder grew more pronounced. Haunted eyes that diminished until they no longer held their rare sparkle.

But at the beginning of every day, until night when he could relax, Merlin tucked it all under a mask. Because hiding himself was what he was good at, right?

* * *

**A/N: The story is off to a bit of a slow start, I know, but more subplots will come in later. Review**


	2. A Tale of Two Queens

A Tale of Two Queens

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin**

* * *

Morgana smiled slowly.

She loved it when her plans paid off. She held up the dusty, but nevertheless priceless, tome to the candlelight to admire it.

The middle-aged woman had been adamant that she was going to keep the book when Morgana first approached her. Morgana didn't want to use magic, as it was conspicuous and easily detected by the right people. She was smart enough to know she could be easily accused of magic even without evidence, especially at the borders of Camelot.

That was the thinking of people these days. A woman who was intelligent, independent, unwed and _free?_

She must be a _witch._

So, inconspicuously, Morgana asked around about the woman's background, and lo and behold, found something. It was the herbs that gave it away. The woman had told her neighbours that they were for her soups and roasts but Morgana spotted… that the little weakling hedge witch would do _anything_ to make sure her family and neighbours didn't find out about her magic.

How familiar.

Morgana wrinkled her nose in disdain over the frightened, naïve girl she had once been – trying to keep her magic away, ha! It had taken several people, namely her sister, to help her discover the jewel-embedded prison that tyrant had kept her trapped in for all those years…

Breaking out of her musing and burying the painful memories of Morgause, Morgana reverently leafed through the pages of the ancient tome with escalating delight.

This was dark magic – dark, dark magic. It was surprising and insulting for a hedge witch of so little power to possess such a treasure. However, that aside, Morgana now almost had everything that she needed.

There was just one more little thing – _well… not so little now_ – that she needed to 'collect'.

* * *

Gwen was on her way back from visiting friends amongst the kitchen staff. She was walking down the hall when she heard the giggling and laughing of courtiers up the corridor.

Gwen halted, and her eyes flashed to the kitchen grime on her dress. Quickly, she then turned off into a side corridor to a storage room.

The storage room was cold, dusty, unused. Perfect. Not caring about her dress anymore, Gwen slid down against the wall, resting her head in her palms.

Gwen attempted to avoid them, all of them. At first, she had tried so hard to be a proper Queen for Arthur's sake. But the court would never accept her – who was she but a stepped up maid playing dress up?

Gwen's first slip up was during the first banquet of her and Arthur's combined reign. She was walking to the head table when a serving boy slipped, dropping all his dishes over the floor in front of Gwen.

Gwen, instead of berating the boy or ignoring him – as a noble would – had bent down in her priceless dress and jewel-incrusted crown to immediately to help the boy clean the mess.

Arthur had pulled her up quickly, but it was already too late. The titters amongst the lords and ladies had started, and a blush had sprinted across Gwen's cheeks.

Arthur had put a reassuring hand on her shoulder; despite the fact that Gwen knew that he was embarrassed as well. Gwen had taken a deep breath, held her chin high and kept her face calm, despite her flushed cheeks, then continued walking arm in arm with Arthur to the high table in her stained dress.

Presently, Gwen grimaced at the events of that night. It had been the beginning for many situations when Gwen had felt inferior and ignorant in the presence of Arthur's courtiers.

The sound of the storage door opening broke the silence. Gwen squinted against the sudden bright light, just as voice spoke in shock,

"Gwen?"

Gwen frowned, "Merlin?"

"What in Camelot's name are you doing down here?" Gwen eyes had adjusted, and she looked away from Merlin's questioning gaze.

Jumping up, Gwen looked wildly around for an excuse.

"I'm um, just seeing how much space is left for, the, um –" The understanding she saw in Merlin's eyes was almost too much to bear. Fighting tears, Gwen slumped. A tight hug enveloped her, and Gwen clasped her friend for support.

"Merlin, I'm not sure if I want to do this anymore," The words sounded childish and weak in her mouth.

Merlin held her at arm's length. Letting her go for the instant, Merlin walked to the door and shut it. Coming back to Gwen, he sat down beside where she was standing and patted the floor space next to him.

"Why don't you tell me about it?"

Gwen sat down cautiously, but before long it all came rushing out of her mouth, accompanying the tears from her eyes.

Merlin looked thoughtful. "Have you told Arthur any of this?"

Gwen shook her head, "I'm not going to be one of those wives that whines to her husband." With that, at least, her voice was steady and sure. Small miracles.

"I'm not Queen Merlin!" Gwen laughed. "I don't know, it just feels like I'm living a double life, pretending to be something I'm not."

Merlin laughed with her bitterly and murmured. "Yes, that seems to be an epidemic in Camelot."

For the first time, Gwen noticed deep shadows under Merlin's eyes, the haunted look on his face. She frowned.

"What of you, Merlin?" Gwen asked, "Are you alright?" Merlin looked taken aback.

But after a moment's pause, he rolled his eyes mock irritated.

"Oh yes, fine. But Gaius has been snoring in his sleep." He raised his hands and tilted his head back in dramatic despair, "What's a young man to do, trying to sleep through the war drums and thunder of an old man's snore!"

Gwen laughed, long and hard. All's fine, Gwen told herself, the shadows were just a trick of the light. Hearing the bell toll, her eyes widened in surprise.

"Is that already the time!" she looked at Merlin and swore like a guardsman. "I'm so sorry, holding you up! What about your duties?"

Merlin grinned boyishly, "Oh, please, Arthur can wait for his lunch. I always have time for the Queen."

Helping Merlin up, she hugged her friend once again.

Wiping away her tears, she smiled "Thank you, for just listening. You always listen."

Merlin nodded, but his face turned serious.

"Tell Arthur. He would want you to tell him" He shook his head bemusedly. "Arthur's has become skilled when it comes to diplomacy and politics; and is on his way to becoming a great – _the greatest_ – king Camelot has ever seen. But you, Guinevere, are his Queen. His first Queen, so as far as that goes, he is in uncharted territory. Chances are, he has noticed something, but being the clotpole that he is – doesn't know what to do about it. And he is too embarrassed to ask."

Gwen sighed and smiled. "Yes, that does sound like Arthur, doesn't it?" Gwen held Merlin gaze evenly. "I can't let Arthur sort out my problems – especially not with the courtiers. They will never respect me if I let Arthur fight _my _battles."

Merlin nodded, "Well, Gwen. I respect you. So much you can't even comprehend. The servants respect you and the people of Camelot respect you, love you. I believe the courtiers will come to do the same, eventually. If Arthur is going to be the greatest King of Camelot, then you will be its greatest Queen."

The calm certainty of his voice gave Gwen heart.

* * *

The cave walls dripped, their echoes sounding through the dim. There was a small fire, which a handful of people sat around. As Morgana approached them, they noticed and leaped up, some holding weapons.

Morgana snorted. "Please, don't insult me."

Sweeping her hand she commanded, "_Symud i ffwrdd_". And the weapons went flying into the cave walls with a clash.

Others of the group who were clearly sorcerers stepped forward.

"Stop." A voice from behind the men rang clear. The men all halted, and move aside.

A figure walked to Morgana. Bright blue eyes sparkled. "Hello Morgana."

Morgana smiled and nodded her acknowledgement, "Mordred."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry about how long it took to update, I'll try to be faster but I make no promises.**

**Hopefully the chapters will get longer as the story progresses and I have more to write about.**

**Review please: Constructive criticism is welcome.**


	3. All The King's Men

All the King's Men

**A/N: ****I always saw Merlin as younger than all the rest – perhaps fourteen or fifteen when the series began. I know that all the characters calling him 'boy' might be just a term of disrespect, but the sheer innocence and awkwardness of his attitude makes me think otherwise. Gwen and Morgana would be about sixteen or seventeen, Arthur eighteen. As the story is set about five years after Merlin arrives in Camelot, I'm sure you can all do the maths as to how old they all are now ;) The Knights would be at least one or two years older than them, if not more. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin, regrettably.**

* * *

Gwaine was returning his horse from a ride when he spied a common sight.

"Oi! Wake up, mate! No time for snoozing" A 'light' clap on the back sent Merlin sprawling out of his doze and onto the ground. The sound of Gwaine's laughter echoed around the stable. The boy had fallen asleep over cleaning the horse's tack.

"Ha! You should've seen your face!" From his position in the dirt, Merlin glared fiercely up at the knight. But this only seemed to increase the knight's blinding smile. Merlin's clumsiness was so far the bright point of Gwaine's day.

"Better me than Arthur, mate." Although Merlin conceded his point, Gwaine could still see he was indignant through drowsy blue eyes. Pulling the boy up, Gwaine then got a crafty look in his eyes, "Now what's say you and me have a wander about town, old Merlin boy?"

Merlin rolled his eyes, which were strangely mute and dim for the manservant. But before Gwaine could comment on Merlin's apparent lack of enthusiasm – Merlin's sparkly smile lodged itself firmly back in place.

Merlin drawled sarcastically; "No, that would be too strange – me going to the tavern when I actually _said_ I was? Nope, I'll go back to my chores. I don't want to unbalance Gaius' world too much, he's not as young as he used to be."

Dusting himself, Merlin rose gracefully. Gwaine's smile faltered just a little bit – graceful was not usually a word that was used to describe Merlin.

But that wagon of thought was quickly interrupted with the manservant somehow tripping over his own feet. Gwaine snorted, _of course_.

"Well, mate, we have that friggin ambassadorial trip in a few weeks. Best get some good Camelot ale into you before we have to drink that swamp muck our dear late Cenred's people seem to actually _enjoy_." Gwaine shivered.

Walking away, Gwaine chided himself. _Merlin…graceful?_ By the Old Religion and new, it must have just been his imagination.

Of course, in walking away, Gwaine never saw the shrewd glint reach Merlin's eyes, or the satisfied smirk that danced its way across his elven face.

* * *

Merlin would never understand the odd satisfaction he gained in playing stupid. He loathed the lying, that was for certain. But in the game of manipulation, unfortunately Merlin was becoming an experienced player simply by hiding his magic. The slightly frightening thing was – Merlin liked it, moving people around like chess pieces. Never again would people like Agravaine and Morgana play him.

He sighing from exhaustion – would he ever get a proper night's sleep again? Merlin decided to clear his head and go for a walk around the Lower City. Whether it be a chat with the baker, tossing a leather ball around with the children, or flirting with the old seamstress to get a new necktie, it was safe to say Merlin was well known.

Merlin was in the main square, drawing a drink from the well, when he heard shouts.

Then he smelt the smoke. He turned to see a plume of black smoke rising from the distant bakery.

Out of the many people running up to the well, drawing water to go help, Merlin grabbed the arm of a man.

Rapidly, shouting over the din, Merlin asked, "Whose house is that?"

"I don't know, but their saying the roof is made from thatch!" The man grimaced, "It'll go up before you could blink." Like that, the he ran off.

Merlin stood there watching the man go. Merlin had the ability to stop the fire, like he had the ability to stop many of the crimes and disasters in Camelot. But he was always running the risk of being discovered. Even if Merlin disguised himself by magic, the sheer amount that would be needed to constantly change back and forth would be too great.

As Merlin watched, the roofs of the houses next to the first one caught fire as well. Merlin started to panic, _What if there are people in there?_

"Make a decision, Merlin." He told himself. Then, as if a torch lit inside Merlin's head, he got an idea. He ran to the seamstress's store, which of whom had unwisely ran out of the store to investigate the commotion.

Grabbing a large, non-descript hooded cloak, Merlin was pleased to see it covered all his clothes and his face. Muttering a few words of infantile magic to keep it covering him, Merlin bolted out the door.

At the speed Merlin was going, it only took him a few minutes to reach the burning buildings. By this time it had spread to half the street, and Merlin could hear screams for help.

Merlin's throat tightened, _I'm too late._

Standing at the back of the crowd, Merlin stretched his hands out the tiniest bit from his body, and muttered rapidly…, eyes blazing a harsh gold richer and more ancient than the fire could ever attempt to replicate.

And just like that, the flames were snuffed out. Pushing past the crowd, Merlin ran to the nearest house directly into the smoke. Focusing on his magic, Merlin saw the people in the house as hunched balls of red, pulsing energy. Some were flickering. Merlin frowned, _but I stopped the fire__**…**_

Then it hit him, the smoke! Of all the stupid, basic physician handbook knowledge to forget, it had to be smoke inhalation.

Drawing upon his magic yet again to clear out the smoke, and feeling a pulse of fatigue, Merlin realised how the amount of magic it took to stop a fire of that size; enough that Arthur was more than likely going to find reasons to hit him tomorrow for not paying attention. _And you would rather be well-rested but have a dozen lives that you could have saved on your conscience than be a tiny bit tired? Do you even have a conscience? _ Merlin clenched his jaw.

But Merlin kept moving, finding the balls of red energy. The first he found was only a boy of seven or eight. The boy was barely conscious, but otherwise alright. No serious burns or such.

Merlin was about to move on when the boy spoke up; "Are you a knight, sir?"

Merlin let himself laugh; "No, not a knight." Merlin shook his head, a Lower City boy admiring nobles? Times had certainly changed.

"Then who are you?' Merlin paused at the boy's query.

"That is a very good question." And with that, Merlin passed on.

Glancing out the window, Merlin blanched when he realised how large the crowd at grown. He now saw guards, and by the dragons, knights.

_Gah!_ This sleep deprivation was making him slow! Of course guards and knights would come; the fact that magic had been used was obvious.

Merlin sent a quick sweep through the other buildings. None were too serious, except from the building where the fire had originated – to say that one was bad would be an understatement. But if he tried to get into that building now, he would be swamped with guards. But maybe a physician could.

Sighing as he used magic once again, he weaved a disillusionment spell to hide his escape from the building. Then, in a back alleyway, he released the charm that kept the hood in place, and removed the cloak.

Entering back onto the street and into the middle of the crowd; Merlin bellowed, "Make way! I'm a physician!" The crowds parted as Merlin ran to the front.

The guard outside one of the houses looked relieved at his arrival. Merlin could see some of the people he saved out on the street; taking condolences and glasses of water. Speaking swiftly to a guard, he asked, "Do you have any serious victims of the fire?"

The guard nodded, "Sir, just over there by the stall." Merlin bolted over. It was the woman he had sensed dying. Kneeling down, Merlin cursed his lack of ability and knowledge in the healing arts. The burns of the woman were horrifying, blisters and blood covering her and most of her clothes burned to ashes.

After checking her wounds once more, Merlin checked her pulse. Merlin slumped; the woman only had a few minutes left, if not less. Merlin looked back up at the guard, and shook his head in regret. Look at the all-powerful Emrys now! It was fine when it came to destroying and killing creatures, but saving a life through magic was apparently too much to ask for.

Merlin now knew what it felt like to be normal.

Merlin felt a tap at his shoulder. When he turned, Merlin saw it was the boy he had saved.

"Yes?" Merlin asked.  
The boy gave a gap-toothed smile. "Sir, I wanna say thank you."

Merlin frowned, confused, "But I didn't save her."

The boy shook his head. "You saved me." Merlin paled.

"No, I think you must have me confused with someone else. I only got here about ten minutes ago."

But the boy shook his head again, adamant. "No, you were in a cloak, and you saved me n' my dad, and the neighbours. Daddy said whoever did used magic, and that's why the knights are here." He leaning closer while solemnly saying, "I promise to keep your secret. You saved me, so you can't be a bad sorcerer."

After nodding to him, the little boy got up and ran to the man Merlin presumed to be his father. After talking with the boy, Merlin got the first flash of hope he had had in a long time. If the children could accept that magic could be good, maybe the adults could too.

* * *

Gwaine wished they would _shut up_.

That's all he seemed to be hearing for the last three days. Cloaked figure this, and cloaked figure that. Some swore that the figure had used magic to blow out the Forge Street fires, but others had claimed it was just the wind. No magic in Camelot, you see; nothing to be afraid of.

Gwaine wished he could smack them all around the heads.

But then, still, others claimed it was not the only good deed that the cloaked figure had done. Various witnesses saw a cloaked figure around a collapse of a house in the Marlborough District a few nights back, or the discovery of two wanted murderers in Llewellyn Square, tied up right outside the guard station! Gwaine wasn't sure what to believe.

It made Arthur edgy, the fact that there might be a sorceror on the loose in Camelot.

"He probably caused the fire himself! And then stayed around to fix it up!" he had ranted after hearing of the sudden surge of pro-magical sentiments in Camelot.

Merlin rolled his eyes next to Arthur, and said in his trademark drawl. "Yes, Arthur, you're absolutely right. A big, evil sorcerer setting out for the destruction of Camelot is going to burn a couple of buildings, then stay around to fix the wreckage and bandage some scratches " He nodded with a mockingly rapt look on his face as the knights tried to contain their smirks. Arthur glared at him.

"Now, Merlin, I specifically remember my horse's stable being filthy with muck this morning. Go clean it out. Now."

Merlin sighed dramatically. He nodded goodbye to the knights, "Elyan, Percival, Gwaine, Leon." Then he nodded at Arthur, seemingly sincere look on his face "Clot pole."

After which he dodged at flying vase with well-practised ease.

A while after Merlin left, Arthur commented, "So maybe we don't have anything to worry about from this sorcerer, he's probably just a pretender anyways."

Gwaine glanced at Leon, and knew that the older knight's thoughts mirrored his – Arthur's would have never taken that advice from anyone else.

With the ambassadorial trip in another week, Gwaine was glad Merlin was coming. It might just mean that Arthur could make it out without doing anything stupid.


End file.
